1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the shooting sports and more particularly to an improved method and composition for making a readily frangible biodegradable clay target for the same.
2. Prior Art
Conventional clay targets which are thrown into the air from hand launchers or machine launchers in skeet shooting, in trap shooting and in practicing for field shooting of birds include non-biodegradable components, for example, pitches, tars and other petroleum products generally used as binders for limestone-containing targets. Such binders are noxious and dangerous but are needed to strengthen the targets sufficiently so they can be stored, shipped and launched without prematurely breaking. Such noxious substances may penetrate the soil and adversely affect wildlife, plant life, underground water supplies and the like.
Certain of such clay targets are fired into ceramic in order to increase their strength, but such ceramic targets are in and of themselves a hazard to the environment, since they do not readily biodegrade but lie on the ground, preventing plant growth and remaining an unsightly mess.
Because clay target shooting sports are very popular, many thousands of the targets are exploded over the landscape during the course of a season of shooting at numerous shooting grounds. Accordingly, there is a need to provide an improved form of clay target which is biodegradable and, preferably bio-improveable, and which is inexpensive and aerodynamically sound.
Moreover, it should be sufficiently frangible so that it readily breaks into small fragments when hit by a shotgun pellet, in contrast to certain conventional clay and other targets which tend to deflect but not to explode or minutely fragment when hit during shooting. It is important to the shooter to be able to register a hit by the exploding target, rather than guess at a hit by a deflected but unexploded target.